how much can I move/shake the primary

I'm a traveling boilermaker and I was intending to be home for a couple months but today I got a call that I need to work about 300 miles away. I just brewed 10 gal last friday night and I was wondering how harmfull it would be to put it in my fifth wheel camper and go, then continue as normal with secondary and bottle. My other options are to dump it out or let it sit in the primary to sometime in December. Both batches are ales and as of yesterday one was about done bubbling and the other was still going strong.

is it still fermenting? When do you have to leave? The closer to beginning of fermentation, the better you'll be. The yeast will use oxygen that gets absorbed during the trip from sloshing...plus the fermentation will provide positive pressure from the co2 offgassing, which will further prevent oxygenation. After primary fermentation is done, it gets dicey. You want to minimize sloshing to avoid aeration.

You really shouldn't shake the primary at all since most of the yeast has fallen out. If you do you'll just rouse the yeast and make the brew cloudy again.

Rack it to the secondary as soon as you can and it'll clear even more.

I need to leave tonight and yeah its about done fermenting. I won't be back until December so my options are pretty much limited. What would happen if I took the beer and a pound of dme, once I'm there boil the dme cool it and dump it in. Would that reactivate the yeast to remove the oxygen? I have a problem with racking to secondary becuase I only have two better bottles, I was planning to just put the cream ale in bottles and then put the irish ale in the carboy that the cream ale is now in for it's secondary.

Since fermentation is finished, my suggestion is to get a can of "private preserve" before you leave. It's sold in wine shops, etc., and is just a can of an inert nonreactive gas mixture that is heavier than air, and is used on unfinished bottles of wine to help them keep longer. Spray that stuff into the carboy for 15 seconds or so to ensure adequate purging, then recap it quickly. This should minimize oxygenation.

I'll have to get some of that for the future if this ever happens again. I live in a rural area and the nearest shop is about a 4hr round trip so I'm not going to be able to do that on this one. Is adding boiled dme going to give me satisfactory results? I can boil it now and add it before I leave. I'm not worried if I need to leave it in the fermenter a while longer. I just don't want this beer to be a complete waste.

The DME idea is a good one. It should generate enough CO2 to ensure a good blanket. 8 oz. would do it. Put vodka in the airlock before moving it.

I wouldn't freak about this. Your options are to definitely throw out the beer, or risk spoilage and MAYBE throw out the beer. Odds are way in your favor to take the gamble. I'd even take the risk on December and see what happens before I'd just toss it.

As for the primary:
- If you have a CO2 tank, flush the dead space with CO2 and seal it with a balloon (or condom) during travel. The expandable space will allow CO2 expansion but cannot be sucked or spilled like an airlock.
- If you do not have a tank, don't worry. It's already full of CO2, just seal with a balloon. If you're super concerned, throw in a few oz of DME the night before, and a few when you get there.

i like the condom idea...just don't use the lubricated ones. or the used ones. they don't work so well

Good idea on the condoms, they really are lifesavers. I ended up boiling a few cups of dme and adding it before I left. I stopped for a bathroom break about a 100 miles into the trip and both were bubblin really well. I don't think this is gonna be a big deal. If it does taste like crap I'll just dump it before I bottle.